The Last Rung on the Ladder

1. The Last Rung on the Ladder

2. Connection to Gatsby • You will notice that in the story the selfish break up of a family similar to that in Gatsby. • In addition, you will also find the same sort of spiritual exhaustion the defined the Modernist writing trend.

3. Questions • What does the author imply about the narrator by the line “it's funny how those crossed-off addresses and change-of-address stickers can look like accusations”? • How can one interpret the lack of information about Katrina on the first page? • What is the significance of the weather “wanting” to get cold? • What literary tactic did the author use to convey the sensation of re-emerging from the hay? • What implications can be inferred from the sentence, “The ladder had always held us before, we thought it would always hold us again, which is a philosophy that gets men and nations in trouble time after time”? • List two examples of foreshadowing in the paper? • What sort of sentence structure does the author use in the following passage to build suspense? Back and forth. Hay down my shirt. Back and forth. The haystick was high as my chin now, but the haymow we had been diving into was twenty-five feet deep. I thought that if she only broke her legs it would be getting off cheap. And I knew if she missed the hay altogether, she would be killed. Back and forth. • What is so shocking to the narrator about Kitty’s refusal to look down? • How does the image of the swan dive change meanings? • What is ironic about the postmark and its tie in to the comment about “crossed off addresses”? • She was the one who always knew the hay would be there.

4. Short Answer • What does the hay pile in the story represent? • Remember ARC format • Answer the question • Refer to the text (Remember to embed) • Connect your text to your answer and conclude the paper- connect to theme of story

5. Short Answer- Answer • In King’s “The Last Rung on the Ladder” the hay pile represent the Larry and Kitty’s belief in a savior and rebirth.

6. Short Answer- Refer • While the narrator, Larry, “never believed the hay was there the way Kitty believed it,” both of them understand that the hay is their salvation during the fall, and that to emerge from the golden hay was akin to being “reborn… fresh and new.”

7. Short Answer- Conclusion • The hay pile becomes a symbol of salvation and redemption that both Larry and Kitty lose. Kitty loses the support she has from her brother through his own selfishness, leading her to also doubt the possibility of her life ever emerging the free fall that it is on, while Larry’s lack of faith damn him from the beginning, ultimately leaving him without both family or hope.

8. Quitters Inc. • One of Stephen King’s strengths is building believable characters. Oftentimes, the reader is disgusted by the person but recognizes the character as genuine. What are Morrison’s direct characteristics? What the implied, indirect characteristics? • Surprise endings work best if there is a subtle hint somewhere in the story to set up the twist, so the reader is ultimately able to answer the question of “why did that happen?” How does King go about setting up his ending from the beginning of the story (HINT: There are two hints to the end in the first two pages)? Thinking of the typical plot curve of rising action-climax-resolution, why is a twist ending so entertaining? • Donatti is obviously an interesting antagonist, but does not seem to a “bad guy” in the traditional sense. Who or what is the true antagonist of this story, and what do you think King’s message is from that decision?

9. Nature of the Antagonist • One of Stephen King’s strengths is creating a complicated antagonist. • The example of Frankenstein • “I do know that for the sympathy of one living being, I would make peace with all. I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage of which the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge in the other.” • The story notes several important factors of the antagonist. • First that oftentimes the antagonist is created either directly or indirectly. • Second, that the antagonist does need to be inherently evil, simply opposed to the goals of the protagonist.